At a glance headlines – November 14, 2013

An investigation into the academies and free school programme, the latest NEET figures and disturbing new figures on incidents of self-harm among teenage girls are among the SecEd At a glance headlines for November 14, 2013.

Self-harm fear

There have been 13,400 cases of hospitals treating girls aged 15 to 19 for self-harm in the past year compared to just 4,000 for boys of the same age. An analysis by the Health and Social Care Information Centre has revealed a stark contrast in what children are treated for in hospital according to gender. It also finds that while hospitals recorded 2,400 cases where boys aged 15 to 19 required treatment due to injuries caused by assault, there were just 420 such cases involving girls of the same age. The figures relate to the 12 months to June 2013.

3D printing

A £500,000 fund has been set up to allow 60 Teaching Schools to buy state-of-the-art 3D printers. The Department for Education fund is aimed at boosting the teaching of STEM subjects. 3D printing is mentioned in the new design and technology curriculum and is already an established industrial technology used for prototyping and manufacturing products and components across a range of industries.

Plagiarism survey

Teachers are being asked to complete an anonymous survey about the extent to which their students plagiarise. The online survey is being run by PlagiarismAdvice.org and also looks at how schools educate their students about plagiarism. Visit: www.surveymonkey.com/s/turnitineducationsurvey

Academies inquiry

MPs are to investigate the academies and free schools programme in England. The cross-party Education Select Committee is to consider the effectiveness of the schools in narrowing the gaps for disadvantaged children, the process for approving or compelling academies and free schools, the role of the secretary of state for education in tackling failure, and how accountable academy chains are. Evidence can be submitted up until December 19. Visit: www.parliament.uk/education-committee

NEET figures

There were 1.07 million young people aged 16 to 24 who were not in education, training or employment (NEET) last year, according to new government figures. The figure accounts for 14.8 per cent of the total 16 to 24 population and is down by 133,000 on 2011. This includes 30,000 fewer 16 to 17-year-olds who were NEET and 103,000 fewer 18 to 24-year-olds.

Music resource

A resource to help music teachers better include deaf children in their lessons has been launched. The National Deaf Children’s Society resource includes advice on teaching techniques and pedagogy, including body language, and is aimed at group lessons as well as one-to-one tuition. Visit: www.ndcs.org.uk/music